Orange Is The New Black Gender Analysis

Now a day race and gender have a big weight in how one is treated, especially in prison. Since this will determine where your work, social standing and type of treatment that the inmate receives in the prison. Their lives completely change according to the race and the gender each member is part of. Race and gender are key factors that are taken into consideration when it comes to how inmates are treated in the prison system.

In the 21st century, though no matter how developed society is, it still lacks the understanding that gender and race should not be something by which people are judged. Society should try it’s best to improve and develop its ideas with no judgement of what someone truly is. In the series, Orange is the New Black, we

see race in gender being thrown in our face constantly. Making constant reference to gender and race, we how the prison system is represented in this show and it’s not in a good way. From a study done by Liza Chowdhury, “Prisons are a place for punishment, it would be expected that all inmates receive homogenous treatment.”(Chowdhury p.46) In this part of the introduction to the study, they mention certain elements that partake in a prison system and one of them is this quote. It is very interesting that the main goal for correctional facility should be that everybody should be treated correctly and if something is done wrong all the inmates should receive the same punishment, but it’s become a norm with gender and race that each person is treated differently depending on the identity he or she is part of.
Gender or gender identity is defined as an individual’s sense of being male, female or any other identity between these categories.

Though characters in the series do not directly say what gender they are part of each one slowly let the viewers know what are their interest and gender identity each one has. First character that is very intriguing is the main character Piper Chapman, she has a completely feminine identity. This giving her the privilege of having relationships with characters especially correctional staff. Thanks to her having a “normal” gender Mr. Healy often would take her side. In episode three, “Lesbian Request Denied,” Mr. Healy describes Piper as a “nice girl.” We also see how in episode 1 “I wasn’t ready,” piper uses her gender in her favor, when she is in Caputo’s Office and she starts crying, like the inmates told her to do, this convinced Caputo to let her use the phone and make a call. By her doing this it continuously portrays her as a being a person always in need of help, making her a “weak” character or even someone in need of protection from a male figure. Showing how gender can be a benefit to some an curse for

others.
Later, we meet Big Boo, and in the first season we see her expressing herself a masculine figure. Due to her physique and her way of dressing. Here gender is evident and it being represented accordingly. appears to “act tough” arounfd others and is not afraid to use violence or threats of violence against those that cross her. Characteristics such as toughness and physical strength help in giving butch lesbians a female masculine expression. A Character like Big Boo would most certainly have problems in the prison system that is being present in the series, since the view that if any inmate was of another gender other than the “normal” they would be treated differently. Examples of this can be seen in the episode where Mr. Healy finds out that Piper Chapman had a lesbian relationship and was still in contact with that person, he closes of on her and later goes on to not helping her. Another example with Mr. Healy is when we find out about how he was teased when he was young because he had lesbian parents. Here it is evident how people are treated differently regarding their genders, in this case Mr. Healy’s lesbian parents. Accurately portraying how gender affects how people are treated
Another good character that shows good examples of being open with genders is Sophia.

She openly discusses her gender identity several times during the first season and explains that she is a transwoman. character not only portrays a transwoman, but portrays a transwoman in a way that counters the deceptive narrative. One that shows them as hiding their transitions from society. She is always honest in her transition and is very open about it. She does not try to hide it. Although by her being this open about it she still faces problems in the prison with staff and other inmates. In episode three “Lesbian Request Denied” We see Sophia’s first significant problem that was that the nurse who is responsible on administering inmate’s medication tells Sophia that her hormone treatment has changed unexpectedly. When Sophia tries to fix her medical concerns with Mr. Healy, he insists that it is not a big concern. This incident forces Sophia take matter into her own hands. Here we see how by Sophia being transgender her treatment is changed and help was not being given to

her.
In addition, Sophia’s gender identity causes conflict and tension between inmates and staff during the first season. In episode three, “Lesbian Request Denied,” Mendez, after talking with Sophia, refers to her as having a “cyborg pussy.” This shows the verbal abuse that Sofia would receive for being that way. In the same episode, Mr. Healy referrers to Sophia as a “tranny” again verbal abuse against Sophia. Not only was this treatment form the staff of the prison she would also have problems with other inmates who in episode five, “The Chickening,” describe Sophia as an “it” and an abomination.
Regarding race, it always is socially constructed, but by the beginning of season 1 we viewer have the tendency to see it as a Biological process. In season one Piper’s whiteness is portrayed in a more visible way than usual. Her white privilege does not go unnoticed by other inmates, especially inmates of color. From some of the first interactions Piper has in the prison, she notices her race and the impact it has on her incarceration. In episode one “I Wasn’t Ready” we have evidence of the “white privileged” in the prison when Morello give Piper a toothbrush and Morello goes on to say, “we take care of our own” and that it is “tribal, not racial.” Which sets the mood of the prison system is segregated by race and the impact it has on the inmates. While race impacts the space and location an inmate is going sent to, it does not mean all inmates agreed along the racial guidelines. The white inmates were subdivided into multiple groups. This groups depended on sexuality, social class, and prison occupation. The same goes for Daya in episode 1 her race allows her to be placed in the housing unit known as “Spanish Harlem.” Also, being able sit with the other Latinas at meals or playing dominos. While her race allows her to get close and associate with other Latinas, her not being able to speak Spanish, causes her to be alienated form the group.
Again, Sophia is a character that beside the race she is part of she interacts with the entire prison and she can transcend some racial boundaries with her work. Though this ability only comes from her working with all the inmates in the salon.
Race in Orange is the New Black can also be seen in connecting to space showing inequality. Bothe the Latinas and the black inmates are segregated and sent to special housing units with names like “Spanish Harlem” or “The Ghetto” Those two housing units have racially descriptive names assigned to them, the housing units where white inmates live go unnamed. It is important to mention this because the white housing unit is just seen as a regular one and the other two are not seen in the same way. Whiteness is portrayed as a privilege in the series because they are the once what each housing unit is called.

In Conclusion, the series does a good job in portraying both gender and race accordingly. It successfully shows good examples of how people are treated in and outside the prison system. The examples that are evident in the series of the treatment the inmates go through, regarding race and gender, is real and not justified. The treatment they receive is portrayed in the right way and we see how the prison truly is.